"Protesters take aim at city defense contractor L3 Technologies"

... protesters blocked the driveway entrances to defense contractor L3Harris Technologies on Thursday, using a boat and two boat trailers, chaining themselves to the makeshift barricades and holding up signs including “Rock the boat. The tide is rising. All hands on deck.”...

The protesters remained there for at least six hours before State Police and Northampton police began removing them. Police used saws to free the demonstrators who had chained themselves and arrested seven people...

Although plans for the protest at L3 Harris on Thursday had been in the works before the beginning of the war, its outbreak has only heightened the urgency among many of the protesters for their cause, they said.

“It gives it a new dimension,” demonstrator Clara Wagner said. “It really solidified how concrete the violence feels, and the importance of letting people know that we’re not comfortable with just allowing it to happen.”...

“Here’s one of the biggest defense contractors in the country, and this country of ours is all about making war,” Wieland said. “My hope is that by exposing these people who are making money from war, they could convert and use all this brilliance they have, all this great technology for the planet and for the people.”

In a press release, Demilitarize Western Mass said it hoped to disrupt the profits made by the company and demanded it either close down or convert to doing peace work. It also called on residents and elected officials of western Massachusetts to get behind their cause and also for the company to compensate its workers impacted by the protest, acknowledging they had a right to be paid in spite of the disruption the protest caused.

L3 Technologies declined to comment Thursday, citing company policy...